patellar sublaxation

[sfbridges1]

Hello everyone. I way diagnosed with patellar sublaxation which is a fancy way of saying my kneecap dislocates. It comes out very often and I can easily put it back in place. Today is a bigger problem, its dislocated about a centimeter out of place. No matter what I do, when I put it back it immedly slips right out again. I'm not swollen today, I don't understand why I can't put it back this time. Drs will not fix my issue because my caps dislocate to the inside of my knee, instead of the normal outside. Done physical therapy 5 times with no results. Only thing that works for pain is acupuncture. Question is: anyone else have this problem, if so what did you do to fix it?

[sfbridges1]

Yeah did that for over 5 years. It's at the point where it needs to be fixed. Recently saw the best knee guy in kaiser and getting surgery soon. He is taking out the plica, its gotten calcified and it pushed out my knee cap, so its not technically sublaxation because the plica is making the cap out of place. I appreciate your response and thank you for caring.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Patellar subluxation is largely managed conservatively and surgery is reserved for severe cases. You could try resting the leg for a few days and re-start with physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles that help in stabilizing the patella. It would take regular physiotherapy for effects to be noticeable. Wearing knee braces may also help with stabilization and prevention of recurrent subluxation.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!